Arrested for driving under the influence of my taken-as-directed, legitimate adderall

(Note to mods: This is not about illegal use of adderall. I take my meds exactly as prescribed by my P-doc)

This is one of the more bizarre things that has ever happened to me. I've been ADD for as long as I can remember. About 12 years ago I suffered a brain injury due to chronic exposure to carbon monoxide. Among other things, the CO injury made my ADD symptoms even worse than before, and I've become a real klutz because some of my motor skills were also impacted. But I still have good dexterity and can drive safely. I haven't had an accident in the 12 years since this has happened to me.

So, I've been looking for work for ages, and had just about given up when an employer finally called me up and offered me a job. Yay! At last! My first day was last Wednesday and I barely got any sleep the night before, being anxious about my new job starting in the morning. I take 70mg Adderall/day (two 20mg XR in the am, followed by one 30mg IR in the afternoon) - a lot to some perhaps, but I've read of many others on this board who take more than that.

I took my two 20's before leaving for work, and put my prescription bottle with the 30's in my purse. I also put my prescription bottle with my lorazpam (taken for occasional anxiety) in next to my adderall bottle. I don't like carrying loose schedule II drugs around with me, so that why I just put the bottles in my purse. Well, the first day at work went well enough, but I was super tired when quitting time finally came around. It was getting toward dusk and raining as I left. I also need to get new eye glasses because my prescription has changed, but couldn't afford them while I was out of work.

I live on a small county road off the main highway and the turn can be easy to miss, since the sign is small and everything tends to look alike due to all the alfalfa farms around here where my house is. I was slowing down, trying to peer through the rain for my turn when I saw the flashing lights of the highway patrol behind me. I pulled over and stopped right away. The officer said he stopped me because I was driving suspiciously and he wanted to do a road side sobriety test. I explained about my lack of sleep, etc., and I also told him about the brain injury thing making it nearly impossible for me to go through all those gyrations of a road side sobriety test. I offered to do the breathalyzer test and even the blood test instead. But he made me do the roadside test and I did as badly on that as I'd explained I would. So then he does the breathalyzer and I blew a 0.0.

The officer then decided to take me in for the blood test. Whatever. I informed him that I take adderall and sometimes lorazapam by prescription and as directed by my p-doc, a psychiatrist known to almost everyone in this small community. Well, we went into town to the hospital for the blood draw and then right away I got a ticket for driving under the influence of drugs! WTF?

How much adderall (taken as directed) is it legal to have in your system? What about the difference between taking IR vs XR? They never even asked me about the amounts and dosages I had been prescribed. Can they actually find me guilty for driving while taking my prescribed dose of adderall? This is just awful!

Re: Arrested for driving under the influence of my taken-as-directed, legitimate adde

I wish you the best of luck in getting this thrown out. I think they may have you on a technicality. Technically you are driving under the influence of drugs on adderall, whether it is prescribed or not.

I think when it is prescribed it becomes a gray area. I believe if the medication effects your driving you can be charged even if legally prescribed. Pain medication is the same way. That is why they have warnings about driving.

Unfortunately, I think it probably is up to the officers discretion about whether your medication is effecting your ability to operate a motor vehicle safely.

Good luck

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Re: Arrested for driving under the influence of my taken-as-directed, legitimate adde

I agree with the others.

Just a side-note: XR vs. IR makes no difference really. A 20 XR has exactly the same total amount of the same drug as a 20 IR. (20 IR gives 20 mg immediately; 20 XR gives [approximately] 10 now and 10 later.)

Re: Arrested for driving under the influence of my taken-as-directed, legitimate adde

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greyhound1

I wish you the best of luck in getting this thrown out. I think they may have you on a technicality. Technically you are driving under the influence of drugs on adderall, whether it is prescribed or not.

I think when it is prescribed it becomes a gray area. I believe if the medication effects your driving you can be charged even if legally prescribed. Pain medication is the same way. That is why they have warnings about driving.

Unfortunately, I think it probably is up to the officers discretion about whether your medication is effecting your ability to operate a motor vehicle safely.

Good luck

That's what concerns me - the technicality thing. I can certainly prove that I failed the roadside test due to my brain injury. I have the medical paperwork to back me up there. But the "erratic" driving due to sleep deprivation and the light rain making it difficult for me to see, especially with my old glasses is another thing entirely.

Actually, if I'd popped a few extra adderall before leaving work, I'd have been less prone to the effects of exhaustion and would most likely never been stopped. Ironic, huh? If I could afford a real lawyer, I think I'd get off, but I don't have the money, so I'm stuck with a public offender. This is just so wrong!

Re: Arrested for driving under the influence of my taken-as-directed, legitimate adde

Driving when tired is not safe.

Driving on Adderall when tired is not safe either. If you're sleep deprived and taking Adderall, you are not prone to feeling exhausted, but you are still exhausted and still just as unsafe. Like "asleep with your eyes open".

Re: Arrested for driving under the influence of my taken-as-directed, legitimate adde

Quote:

Originally Posted by Possum

That's what concerns me - the technicality thing. I can certainly prove that I failed the roadside test due to my brain injury. I have the medical paperwork to back me up there. But the "erratic" driving due to sleep deprivation and the light rain making it difficult for me to see, especially with my old glasses is another thing entirely.

Actually, if I'd popped a few extra adderall before leaving work, I'd have been less prone to the effects of exhaustion and would most likely never been stopped. Ironic, huh? If I could afford a real lawyer, I think I'd get off, but I don't have the money, so I'm stuck with a public offender. This is just so wrong!

I would support your case with the brain injury facts. I would use that to support the reason for failing the roadside sobriety test. The rain, sleep deprivation and old glasses probably won't fly well with a judge regarding that.

I think you need to prove that your injury prevents you from passing the test.

I wish you the best.

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Re: Arrested for driving under the influence of my taken-as-directed, legitimate adde

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greyhound1

I would support your case with the brain injury facts. I would use that to support the reason for failing the roadside sobriety test. The rain, sleep deprivation and old glasses probably won't fly well with a judge regarding that.

I think you need to prove that your injury prevents you from passing the test.

I wish you the best.

I guess I wasn't very clear in my OP. Not a doubt that the effects from the brain injury prevented me from passing the road side sobriety test gymnastics. What the cop called the "erratic driving" that he pulled me over for in the first place was due to low visibility and the slower response time due to sleep deprivation. I haven't lived in this house for very long, so it's not yet your automatic drive home for me. I could truthfully blame the brain injury for the longer learning curve I have for getting to know new neighborhoods and streets. My short term memory is not all that good, and it always takes me longer to adjust to new surroundings than it did before I got zapped by the stupid carbon monoxide. I also have medical documentation of that, so maybe I could blame at least a part of my apparent confusion on the brain injury, as well.

I'm thinking I may need to call the Colorado Legal Center for those with disabilities tomorrow. Maybe they can give me some ideas as to how to proceed...

Re: Arrested for driving under the influence of my taken-as-directed, legitimate adde

Possum - do be careful what you say and how you say it. I'm no judge, but if I was, I think it would take a lot of surprising evidence to get me to see a brain injury as anything but a potential reason to take your licence away. Nothing against you, just kind of "calling it as I see it". You know - the supposedly common-sense question would be "why is a person with a brain injury allowed to be driving in the first place". Let me say again that I don't know the situation and don't know the way you drive, and so I'm looking at it in a very superficial knee-jerk kind of way.

I think there's a good chance you get a superficial knee-jerk reaction from administrators and judges too, and that's kind of part of my point. Tread carefully.

Re: Arrested for driving under the influence of my taken-as-directed, legitimate adde

I went through this exact same thing in 2010. I have terrible balance and got a flat 1/4 mile from my house. I was followed home by the cops because they saw me attempting to drive on the flat when really I was just trying to not have to be on the side of the road. They did a field sobriety test which I failed ( so they said) because I have awful balance and was shaking like a leaf and terrified. They asked me if I was on any medication and mistake #1 was volunteering that I was on Geodon. They didnt know what it was and it sounded fishy to them. So off to the station I go where I took a breathlyizer and gave a urine sample while talking about why I took geodon. So they knew I was on a med they hadnt heard of and sounded impairing AND that I was bipolar. I should never have told them sh*t because they would never find geodon in my urine but I was always told to be honest with the cops. Ha. I was never arrested, just detained. I got a ticket for DUI,careless driving,driving on a flat and unsafe driving. Yep, 4 tickets, and my husband had to come and pick me up.

I fought it in court. I had to hire a lawyer and they had to hire an expert to review the meds I was on and make a determination that they would not impair me. $5000 dollars later I plead it down to just careless driving because it didnt matter to them that I was not impaired, they wanted their fines and the cops are never wrong. I even lost my license for 30 days as part of the "deal" it upset me so much. I swear I have PTSD over it. I was unable to drive safely out of fear for a good 6 months, I was almost agoraphobic, all over something I never did wrong in the first place.

I know there are some good municpal cops out there but the ones around me here are only interested in township$. Its guilty until proven innocent here.

__________________President of the No F's given society.

I carried a watermelon?

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Re: Arrested for driving under the influence of my taken-as-directed, legitimate adde

of course what is there to fear fighting the case when you have proof that you were on legal dose of Adderall. I don't understand how the prosecutor can prove beyond reasonable doubt that you broke the law. Can anyone explain to me on what I might not be aware of if i'm wrong in my say?

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